1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable post assemblies and to portable post anchors employed in such post assemblies. The post assemblies are of particular use in providing support for various kinds of sports nets and for various kinds of tarpaulins and awnings as well.
In the playing of games such as volleyball, it is desirable that reliable support be provided for maintaining the net in a taut condition. One well known means of providing this support is to sink upright posts permanently into the surface on which the game is to be played. Another is to imbed or otherwise anchor the lower ends of upright posts and provide additional support in the form of guy lines or side braces fastened to the posts. It is also well known to attach weighted bases to lower ends of net support posts to hold them in place.
The net supporting arrangements identified above have disadvantages. In the case of the permanently imbedded posts, the game can only be played at the location where the post are installed; the posts cannot be easily moved to another location. The same is true to a lesser extent of the posts with the weighted bases; although they can be set up at a desired location, their weight alone makes transporting them difficult. In the case of net posts which require guy lines or side braces to maintain the tautness of the net, the setup procedure is more involved, and the lines or braces add to the space requirements for the setup and can interfere with the playing of the game.